Hamilton takes Chinese GP pole

Lewis Hamilton won the 63rd pole of his career, his 6th in a row, by winning qualifying for the Chinese GP. The pilot Mercedes set the new lap record at the Shanghai International Circuit with a time of 1'31''678.

The front of the grid will be identical to that of the Australian GP since Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) completes the first row almost 2 tenths behind. The Melbourne winner was ahead of the W08 by a thousandth. Valtteri Bottas, while Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) completes the second row.

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) completes the top five, more than a second behind the benchmark. The Australian preceded the Williams by Felipe Massa. Nico Hulkenberg won the first Q3 at Renault since the acquisition of Lotus F1 Team taking 6th place. Sergio Pérez (Force India) follows in 7th place ahead of Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) and Lance stroll (Williams).

Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) was the first eliminated from Q2. The Spaniard, who failed 6 hundredths behind Lance Stroll (Williams), was ahead of Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and Marcus Ericsson (Sauber).

Giovinazzi destroys his Sauber

Q1 of the Chinese GP ended with Antonio Giovinazzi crashing at the exit of the last corner. The Italian was unhurt, but his C36 was destroyed. Although qualified for Q2, he could have a penalty in the event of a change of elements.

Italian @Anto_Giovinazzi crashes his car on the line #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/sphwdTjoA6

— La F1® sur CANAL (@LaF1SurCanal) April 8th

Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) was the first eliminated from the first qualifying session with less than a tenth behind Antonio Giovinazzi. Romain Grosjean (Haas) follows in 17th place. The Frenchman had the potential to qualify for Q2, but the Italian's accident prevented him from progressing. The former GP2 champion missed his first timed lap after spinning.

Jolyon Palmer (Renault) followed in 18th position ahead Max Verstappen (Red Bull) who encountered mechanical problems. Esteban Ocon (Force India) completed the list, also being stopped in its tracks by the crash of the Sauber driver.

The start of the Chinese GP will take place tomorrow at 8 a.m. and will be followed live on Canal+ and with our live text.